'You will suffer consequences' -- a Chinese warship reportedly threatened a US Navy destroyer in the

A Chinese warship threatened a US Navy destroyer during a tense showdown in the South China Sea in late September, according to new details of the encounter.

A Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Type 052C Luyang II-class destroyer challenged the US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur during a routine freedom-of-navigation operation near the disputed Spratly Islands. The Chinese warship sailed within 45 yards of the American vessel, nearly colliding with the US destroyer.

The Chinese vessel "approached USS Decatur in an unsafe and unprofessional maneuver in the vicinity of Gaven Reef in the South China Sea," where it engaged in "a series of increasingly aggressive maneuvers accompanied by warnings for Decatur to depart," a spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet said in a statement. The Decatur was forced to change course to avoid a collision.

A transcript of the radio exchange between the two naval vessels obtained by the South China Morning Post from the British Ministry of Defense shows that the Chinese ship threatened the Decatur, warning that it would "suffer consequences" if it did not move.

"You are on [a] dangerous course," the Chinese destroyer warned over the radio. "If you don't change course, [you] will suffer consequences."